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twitterLetter to the editor:
School dress code would solve many ills
Friday, April 3, 2009 | 2:02 a.m.
It is time the Clark County School District adopted a simple and uniform dress code for all its students. When one drives by local schools, one is struck by the appalling attire worn by so many students. Sloppy and slovenly dress apparently is the accepted standard in many of our schools.
It is well known to teachers that the attitude of students is reflected in their attire. Sloppy and slovenly dress promotes an equivalent disregard for the importance and purpose of education. Students who dress in sloppy, revealing or provocative attire do not contribute to positive learning in class. Wearing shower shoes, flip-flops, beach sandals, cutoffs and beach attire is not appropriate in our schools.
A simple dress code requiring male students to wear slacks of a selected color with a white dress shirt and suitable shoes would not impose an expense that parents cannot bear; similarly, female students can be required to wear slacks, a skirt or a dress of appropriate color with a white blouse. Private schools have long required uniform dress for their students; the difference is that standard attire in private schools can include expensive color-coded uniforms with blazers, etc.
A uniform, district-wide dress code is also appropriate today to eliminate social pressure on students for gang affiliation. Peer pressure among students to conform by dressing down and wearing sloppy and slovenly attire is also eliminated by a code.
The question remains: Do current School Board members and the administration have the courage to implement such a districtwide dress code?
Discussion: 17 comments so far…
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I also see nothing wrong with the district establishing a minimum dress code standard for all school staff and faculty. I have visited schools over the past years and have noted that there are many instances where the attire of some personnel is not of a professional standard and at the very least is questionable. I have seen some teachers dressed more for a day at a picnic or surfing at the beach instead of the classroom; to me this should be totally unacceptable. Dressing as if one is a ranch hand about to herd cattle on the range or a worker dressed to ride a truck to the potato fields is not the example that students need to emulate.
Beach thongs, cut offs, trunks, bare midriffs and other sloppy, baggy and slovenly attire is not what should be worn in class by a teacher when the teacher is supposed to be the leader and an example for students to emulate. Some teachers I have seen would not be allowed to appear for a hearing in traffic or district court in the outfits some wear in front of their students.
In some instances teachers, especially younger ones new to the profession, may dress in a manner or style like their students in attempts to develop close comradeship with them; emulating Mr. Kotter in Welcome Back Kotter is not the model teachers need to present in this district. n old adage,familiarity breeds contempt becomes true as effective classroom respect, leadership and discipline are diminished or even lost by such actions of the teacher.
In my opinion, teachers need to project professionalism at all times not only in their work and demeanor but also in clothing they wear at school. This does not mean wearing elaborate clothes from expensive or exclusive stores, but neat and appropriate should be a standard for all. Dressing professionally does not mean that one has to spend a fortune on clothes in tough economic times but rather dressing in a manner that demonstrates personal pride, neatness with an attitude reflecting leadership and professionalism as an educator.
The CCSD might consider simple minimal standards that require male attire consist of shirt, tie, slacks and neatly shined shoes; while women wear appropriate modest dresses, blouses, shirts, skirts or slacks and suitable foot wear.
A simple dress code for students, staff and teachers does not violate anyones civil rights unless the CCSD is a nudist colony.
What is missing from Mr. Sestini's comments is the fact that in order for teachers to dress more professionally, they need to be paid adequately to do so.
As for "suitable foot wear," though I have worn shoes in the past, I am simply going to have to wear more tennis shoes, as I am having problems from being constantly on my feet.
To ask men to wear uncomfortable ties daily, given the variety of activity required all day, is ridiculous. One can dress neatly and decently without a tie. I don't see slovenly dress among teachers, but I do see practical dress. If any individual teacher is dressing inappropriately, that should be addressed by administration.
I'm surprised Mr. Sestini doesn't demand that women wear corsets and ankle-length dresses.
As for the students, the problems with their achievement originates with far more and far deeper problems than dress. There may be some value in requiring clothing that frees up time for the deans to deal with other problems, where they don't have to spend time daily dealing with cleavage issues and more. But don't expect miracles. The problems will still exist.
I must agree with Mr. Vestini regarding the way in which MANY teachers dress. When I attend professional development classes/meetings after school, it is clearly evident that many of our younger teachers have a vastly different concept of what professional dress means. When I began with the CCSD, my contract was for under $15,000 and yet I was still able to dress appropriately in a skirt, blouse, hose, and heels every day (in the old days slacks were not allowed :)> )
However, I had to compete to get the job due to the extremely tight hiring market. Many of the young people I have assisted through student teaching have had the notion that they would get a job, no matter what, due to the overwhelming demand for teachers so the need to set themselves apart from the fray by dressing more professionally was not a concern. That comme-ci comme-ca attitude may be changing as our job market tightens up. As to needing to wear tennis shoes on the job, that may be true but what I think Mr. Vestini is speaking to is does that also mean a jogging suit to go with it? We, as the seasoned veterans, need to remember that whether we like it or not we are the role models for younger teachers and our students. Dress like you want to be perceived...as one who deserves respect AND a decent wage.
TEACHER'S above response is typical of the enlightened descendants of the hippy generation that have infiltrated the teaching profession today.Money has absolutely nothing to do with professional dress appearance! As role models many of these individuals leave a lot to be desired. I have seen women and men dress like they were street prositutes and bums along 15th and Fremont.
A man need not wear a tie to dress professionally,nor a woman a corset or full length dresses of old; however, a women should at least have the modesty to wear a bra! I have worked with some young teachers that were bra-less with bosums clearly visible for gaucking eyes of young, impressional male students to behold and wonder! That is not the model of a professional teacher in my view, but then again I am 72 years old and from the older school of thought about morales, ethics and professional attitude about how we as teachers were expected to be in the classroom. Virgil A. Sestini
hey, if we can't get the test scores up, let's distract everyone with a dress code issue.
Please, please learn a little something about HOW are state reports test scores before you through THAT cat into the barrel! You might be surprised to see that when all things are considered equally across the U.S., our scores are not quite as dismal as they appear in comparison to other states such as Texas...this holds true for our graduation rate as well...fact is we hold our state to a stricter standard for reporting scores of subgroups AND we include those who move OR transfer before their high school graduation as dropouts when their records are not forwarded to us which happens in over 80% of the cases. In a highly transient society such as ours, those numbers pack a wallop when considering grad rates. So, again, please do your research!
i did do my homework.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2...
never argue with an old newspaper reporter. we'll bury you every time.
Point of fact is that schools (at least the one public one my wife went to less than a couple years ago) already have minimum dress code rules. Girls can't wear spaghetti strap shirts. I think flip flops aren't allowed (often for open toed safety/insurance reasons). And definitely kids can't wear blatantly "sexy" or grossly inappropriate items. And yeah for the poor families with little income during these times, let's tell them to go buy polo shirts and slacks that they might not have or have the money for. Come on folks.
Oh and I went to private school with a real dress code (slacks, polos, certain shorts/skirts, and certain shoes), and THAT solved nothing. Just more BS for administrators to yell at the kids for. Girls still rolled up their skirts to make them shorter. Guys still bought baggy versions of slacks. And jocks got special blind eyes turned to them on issues such as jeans, facial hair, and the like.
I mean when you spranged an ankle, and it was medically wrapped, sandals were OK. But that was about it.
Let's do it all in one move. Let's require the kids in the government schools to wear brown shirts and black boots.
And while they're at it be sure all those students are also taught to make the appropriate salute and shout "seig heil!" in perfect harmony.
Little boxes made of ticky-tacky, and they all were made of ticky-tacky and they all looked just the same.
Let's let the crowd decide what is acceptable. They can tell us whether every male can or must wear a mustache or a beard. The can even establish what style the mustache or beard shall be and the accepted length of it. They can tell the women whether corsets and pantyhose are mandatory or merely allowed, and the required length of their dresses.
Never mind the real problems that this society faces. All power to the crowd!
Okay so maybe what you need dear old newpaper friend is a course in how to read the USA Today statistics...100 wasn't the placement of the school on a highest to lowest performance scale but the percentage of those REQUIRED to take the test in the state of Maine...we do not require ALL graduating students to take the SAT or the ACT for that matter. It is optional. Look at the comparison of scores of Maine for example and you will see that our scores are comparable even with less than 50% participation by our graduating students. Check out the states with higher scores and you will see that they have less than 10% of their graduating seniors taking the test. So I am sorry but I must say your posted statistics don't support truly your theory.
Those of you from the 'hippy generation' or offspring of said generation have always done it your way...to hell with society. That is why our schools are in the mess they are... You simply don't get it, or don't want to get it... its always been your way or no way!!!
Good discipline in schools leads to better student performance that is an indisputable fact... Discipline is related to attitude and attitude is reflected in personal dress. If you don't give a S--- about anything your attitude will reflect it and in many instances you will dress the same way...which is why many of you oppose even a minimum dress code requriement. A bum has a bum's attitude and dresses like it...a whore has a whore's attitude and dresses like it...
Students who dress like 'gangstas' act, like ganstas and are gangstas in and out of school. Our streets are overrun by this kind of individuals punks, bums. etc. etc with 'I don't give a crap about your or antying else' attitude....Look at the local crime rate and the national crime rate...
Nothing will change for the better in our schools until discipline is re-established in our schools... It doesn't have to be fascist regimentation but strong, sensible discipline including a minimal standard dress code....
It's up to the parents to decide what their kids wear to school. Get responsible, parents. Let teachers teach and not be the fashion police.
I've had to put up with this ridiculous dress code for a while now, and I've seen the results: absolutely nothing. The focus for 'fads' just moved from what your shirt says to your shoes or your jewelry or your backback. The rich kids are still wearing abercrombie and fitch, and the poor kids are still wearing Goodwill and Walmart. Kids are still teased for how they look and what they wear. All the SSA has done is squelch our creativity and intelligence. The next step is to tell us how to wear our hair, what jobs we are to take, what music we are to listen to. We are humans, not your little fashion robots. I understand the need for us to dress appropiately, but to tell us exactly what to wear and taking our ability to put our creativity to use is going way too far.
Uniforms in schools do not raise grades, stop truancies, end school bullying, do the kids homework for them, or keep them from doing drugs.
Explain how a shirt from Lands End for $22.95 (and a sewn on logo for $5) is cheaper and "safer" than a Target shirt for $6.00?
Banning jeans in school, suspending kids for sandals, and expelling students for having their ears pierced twice will NOT raise school comraderie. The world will not end if you keep a minimal set of necessary rules & leave it at that.
Am I an advocate for a blue & green mohawk, showing your boxers out of your pants, or cursewords, alcohol & tobacco on products? Absolutely not. I just want t bring common sense to school & not have hundreds of parents called or have students' time wasted over color of clothes.